A blood management program at Northeast Baptist Hospital that is the first of its kind in San Antonio is providing an alternative for patients facing major surgery. So called “bloodless surgery,” the program has the ability to reduce or avoid the need for blood transfusion and use of blood products during surgery. With this approach, patient outcomes are improved according to Sarah Humme, director of surgical services at Northeast Baptist Hospital. “Our blood management program uses a team approach with a goal to develop a plan of care that uses the latest drugs, technology and techniques to decrease blood loss and to enhance the patient’s own blood supply to eliminate the need for blood transfusion.” Surgeons in a number of specialties at Northeast Baptist Hospital have begun using this approach including cardiovascular, thoracic, pulmonary, vascular and orthopedic surgeries.
Reducing the need for blood transfusion can be instituted as early as the preoperative setting and is planned to coordinate with the time of surgery. These actions can be in the form of restricting certain medications or nutritional supplements that may influence the way a patient bleeds or clots. The surgical team will also assure that the patient’s blood values are adequate to support a surgical procedure and, if not, will assist in optimizing these values before surgery. Various surgical devices, medications, and techniques are used by the surgeon and anesthesiologist during surgery to reduce blood loss as well. During surgery, any lost blood can be harvested, processed and given back to the patient. A patient does not have to donate their own blood prior to surgery, as this can cause the patient to become anemic at the time of surgery.
There are many advantages to bloodless surgery over traditional surgery including the decreased risk of the patient’s contracting new strains of Hepatitis, which cannot yet be tested for in the blood supply. Reducing the need for transfusion can also reduce the risk of infections and decrease the length of hospital stay.
